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A review by bibi_reads_writes
Court of Claws by Briar Boleyn
4.0
“You think knights bear no scars? That they possess no disfigurements? That they are pure and whole?”
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
3.5⭐ I have mixed feelings about this one. The whole time, I thought “Wow this is better than the first one,” with many things I absolutely loved, but at the same time there were too many things that aggravated me—especially when it came to the main characters—to justify giving it a 4-star rating. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it and I’m looking forward to knowing what happens next!
❤️ World building and evocative descriptions
❤️ Side characters and animal sidekicks
❤️ Jaw-dropping ending
❤️ Pronunciation guide
❌ Immature, annoying FMC
❌ Too much push and pull / slow burn done wrong
❌ Miscommunication Trope / “You Lied to Me!”
Note: Make sure to read the trigger warnings, as there are many and things get pretty dark here and there.
Plot:
Morgan wakes up in a kingdom she never knew existed, with magic everywhere and creatures beyond her wildest dreams. But most of all, she is confined to a bedroom and called the prince’s Paramour as a way to protect her from the many enemies lurking in the ruthless Court of Claws. With her own kingdom waging war on three fronts, Morgan wants to return to Camelot as soon as possible… but her life is irrevocably entwined with the prince’s, and first she will need to help him win his crown.
The pace was a little slow at first, but the world-building and location setting amply compensated. It was such a pleasure to discover the Court of Umbral Flames and meet the new characters with Morgan. The pace picked up as soon as Morgan was allowed to leave her chamber, with lots of action and danger. I felt like the story was more compelling, the stakes higher, than in the first book. It was definitely harder to put down!
Characters:
I feel like the biggest flaw in this series is the main characters as well as their development (or rather, lack of) and interactions. The side characters and sidekicks are all great (I mean, how can one not fall in love with Beks, Hawl, Nightclaw, and Gawain?), but the main characters are just… not. At first, I thought Morgan’s character had improved as compared to the first book. She seemed more assured and discerning, but then she fell in the immature-and-needlessly-defiant FMC trap. I should have counted how many times she says “I hate you” when Draven is just trying to help or protect her. Urgh. And Draven really does try to help and protect her, but in all the wrong ways. So much conflict could have been avoided if he simply chose to be more transparent, to explain. Why all the secrets? Why not tell her everything?! But I guess that would have ruined the slow burn / hate to love trope… All the push and pull between the main characters was tiresome and took away from the plot.
Writing:
The world-building and the place/clothing descriptions were pure gold—vivid, lyrical, immersive. I feel like Boleyn stepped up with this one, and I enjoyed her prose.
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
3.5⭐ I have mixed feelings about this one. The whole time, I thought “Wow this is better than the first one,” with many things I absolutely loved, but at the same time there were too many things that aggravated me—especially when it came to the main characters—to justify giving it a 4-star rating. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it and I’m looking forward to knowing what happens next!
❤️ World building and evocative descriptions
❤️ Side characters and animal sidekicks
❤️ Jaw-dropping ending
❤️ Pronunciation guide
❌ Immature, annoying FMC
❌ Too much push and pull / slow burn done wrong
❌ Miscommunication Trope / “You Lied to Me!”
Note: Make sure to read the trigger warnings, as there are many and things get pretty dark here and there.
Plot:
Morgan wakes up in a kingdom she never knew existed, with magic everywhere and creatures beyond her wildest dreams. But most of all, she is confined to a bedroom and called the prince’s Paramour as a way to protect her from the many enemies lurking in the ruthless Court of Claws. With her own kingdom waging war on three fronts, Morgan wants to return to Camelot as soon as possible… but her life is irrevocably entwined with the prince’s, and first she will need to help him win his crown.
The pace was a little slow at first, but the world-building and location setting amply compensated. It was such a pleasure to discover the Court of Umbral Flames and meet the new characters with Morgan. The pace picked up as soon as Morgan was allowed to leave her chamber, with lots of action and danger. I felt like the story was more compelling, the stakes higher, than in the first book. It was definitely harder to put down!
Characters:
I feel like the biggest flaw in this series is the main characters as well as their development (or rather, lack of) and interactions. The side characters and sidekicks are all great (I mean, how can one not fall in love with Beks, Hawl, Nightclaw, and Gawain?), but the main characters are just… not. At first, I thought Morgan’s character had improved as compared to the first book. She seemed more assured and discerning, but then she fell in the immature-and-needlessly-defiant FMC trap. I should have counted how many times she says “I hate you” when Draven is just trying to help or protect her. Urgh. And Draven really does try to help and protect her, but in all the wrong ways. So much conflict could have been avoided if he simply chose to be more transparent, to explain. Why all the secrets? Why not tell her everything?! But I guess that would have ruined the slow burn / hate to love trope… All the push and pull between the main characters was tiresome and took away from the plot.
Writing:
The world-building and the place/clothing descriptions were pure gold—vivid, lyrical, immersive. I feel like Boleyn stepped up with this one, and I enjoyed her prose.